


A Trickster’s Fate

by AnAntTM



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Final Battle, Protagonist's Second Awakening, Spoilers, Yaldabaoth - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 18:53:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14599494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnAntTM/pseuds/AnAntTM
Summary: The final battle against Yaldabaoth has taken a turn for the worse. A fallen angel makes his appearance.





	A Trickster’s Fate

His ears rang with the cacophony of immense pain; everything around him had begun to vibrate so intensely that it caused him actual pain. Try as he might, his body would continue to collapse beneath his weight. Beads of sweat trailed down his forehead, scaling the intricate design of his mask, before falling down to the floor below him.

Turning his gaze to his sides, all he could was the others in the same, horrible state. They were close to death, it was apparent. How could they have failed yet again after having been given a second chance…?

The god of control, Yaldabaoth, mocked them; belittling them as if they were nothing but mere ants while he was a tall bully with a magnifying glass. Their suffering was a testament to his belief that humanity could never change their fate. 

Gritting his teeth, Joker made another feeble attempt to stand up again. And he did… for a brief moment before the shock wave of pressure surged through his body again; this time he collapsed, hitting the floor with a loud ‘thud.’

Vision beginning to blur, it all seemed bleak… his conscious had begun to succumb to his exhaustion. When his eyes almost closed, a chant echoed from the void below. It started off as nothing but a quiet murmur, barely audible above the thrashing winds that surrounded them. But then it became louder, clearer. The source of the voice… was that… Mishima?

“Take it down Phantom Thieves!” the voice from below called out. 

Then another voice raised up, and another. More and more voices joined in the cheering: Sojiro. Kawakami. Hifumi. Takemi. Yoshida…. Everyone Joker had shared a bond with was cheering for him, for the Phantom Thieves to succeed.

“Phantom Thieves, can you hear us?!” Mishima called out once again, raising his fist in the air as a symbol for them to keep fighting. 

“Don’t lose to that thing!” Sojiro called out. He was likely to deny it, but in that moment his face was clearly a smile full of pride for his daughter… for the boy he’d come to protect and care for. For they were part of something bigger now. They were the people’s only hope now.  
“No matter what anyone says, I believe in you guys! GO FOR IT, PHANTOM THIEVES!” Mishima shouted at the top of his lunges. 

“You hear that!? Those are the voices of the humans you made fun of! No one wants you to rule over them. Isn’t that right, Akira!?” Morgana smirked, he was practically sticking his tongue out at the god from how victorious he felt at this moment.

Akira began to stand up, his movements were shaky and he nearly fell for a second; but once he was up, he stood firmly. His gaze was now one of self-important smugness towards Yaldabaoth.

“Why do they gotta word it like they’re lookin’ down on us?” Ryuji said, the sarcasm in his tone was evident, as he staggered to stand up again; his hand resting against his ribs, something might have been broken. 

“But, they’re cheering for us…” Haru retorted, rolling her eyes at Ryuji’s comment.

“Heh… Doesn’t feel bad…” Futaba smirked, enjoying the attention for once. 

“YOU’RE NOT DONE CHANGING THE WORLD!” the crowd below cheered out.

“They don’t have to tell us twice...” Yusuke’s voice was tired, but he tried his best not to show it.

“We won’t let ourselves be erased!” Makoto spoke. 

“We’re going all out, dammit!” Ann shouted.

“GO PHANTOM THIEVES!”

“God is the one who creates the world!” Yaldabaoth proudly proclaimed.

“I’ve made up my mind. I will see my justice through for the sake of projecting what I care about.” Morgana began.

“Morgana…” 

“… The same goes for you guys too! If you’ve decided to take the world from him, don’t compromise your ideals to the very end!” Morgana was determined. 

“Let’s defeat him together!” Ann said, the confidence in her voice evident.

“YOU CAN DO IT!”

“Hey, god. Foolish humans are prayin’ down there. They’re prayin’ there’s no place for someone like you in this world!” Ryuji mocked.

“Give that evil god his final warning, Akira!” Morgana practically jumped up in excitement.

“You picked the wrong enemy.”

Had one of them pulled out their phone right now, with the usual site opened up, they would see the poll… began to drastically change. 80%... 90%... finally hitting 100%. The public completely believed in the Phantom Thieves now! 

The power of cognition affected everything. If the people losing faith in the Phantom Thieves could make them vanish… then everyone believing in them could make them stronger than ever. It was time to test that theory.

An immense rush of power began to flow through Akira, but unlike during his awakening, it did not hurt him. He had become with the power, the cognition that the Phantom Thieves were unbeatable. To hell with this ‘rehabilitation’ crap that Yaldabaoth spewed at him for an entire year… Akira was his own person now. One that wouldn’t sit down quietly and let this evil god do as he pleased. 

“… Arsene. Come forth.”  
The demon emerged behind Akira, his chains flowing around the trickster, almost as if they wanted to trap him once again… But they wouldn’t. Not now. Not anymore. He was no longer a prisoner to fate, in his own mind and society. Almost as if acting solely on instinct, Joker caught hold of the chain and mustering all of his strength to pull against it… tearing the chain apart. 

Pieces of the chain scattered about like green shooting stars as Arsene began to convulse before fading into a bright, beam of light. Nothing seemingly happened, but Akira felt a sudden realization; as if he’d awakened to a hidden power he didn’t even know he had. Now he stood strong and tall, his mask having faded away, revealing his expression of determination.

“So you have failed to harness the power. No matter how many prayers of those foolish masses come together... 

… Hm!?” the god laughed for a moment, only to stop mid-celebration in surprise.

The sky had darkened as the clouds began to part. A being floated downwards from the sky; his massive wings extending to full length. An immense power radiated off the Persona, this was his true power. The fallen angel stood behind Akira, resonating with him. His other self finally showed its true form. Oh, he was mostly definitely going to enjoy this.

“What the…?” Ann gasped in surprise.

“That’s—“ Yusuke was speechless for once.

“Man, it’s huge!” Ryuji, ever the Captain Obvious, spoke up.

“What an immense power…! No way… Is it a Persona…?” even Morgana was in disbelief. 

“YOU ROCK, PHANTOM THIEVES!”

“Fools…! This is why man is doomed…” Yaldabaoth launched another attack, dark-and-red energy waves flushed over the Thieves… but to no avail. Joker’s powerful aura and the support of the people below allowed the Thieves to go unscathed by the attack.  
“Impossible!”

“THEY’RE INSANELY STRONG! THEY’RE NOT JUST PHANTOM THIEVES ANYMORE… THEY’RE LIKE SOME SUPER DEMON LORD! SO AWESOME!”

“I see… If a god plays naughty, then it’s a demon lord’s duty to punish him…! What better way is there for a finale as a Trickster! Joker, we’re entrusting our strength and the people’s hopes to you! Put an end to this!” Morgana explained, looking up at Joker expectantly.

Joker nodded. He raised his hand, closing it as he seemingly absorbed the materialized support of the people of Tokyo, the Phantom Thieves, and even Akira himself. Shutting his eyes, he allowed the support to flow through him, powering him up to have the strength to face a god by himself. 

Flipping his cape, deciding to be a show off one last time, he turned his back towards Satanael. ‘Detest the enemies before you! Change that animosity into power… and unleash it!’ he spoke to himself, remembering the day he’d first awakened to this power. Arsene had always been with him… now was the time to end this the way it started: together. 

“Pillage him… SATANAEL!”

His cape flapped open in the wind, his hand reaching for the gun hidden inside. It was a sleek, steel colored pistol. Simple and deadly, his favorite. Raising the gun, pointing it directly at Yaldabaoth; Satanael matched his movements, raising up his own large fire arm. Akira’s expression had turned to one of genuine hatred and malice toward the god. No more.

“… Begone!”

Pulling the trigger, Satanael launched a bullet fused with the power of the Seven Deadly Sins; it was time to turn Yaldabaoth’s power against him. The bullet zipped through the sky, spiraling and cutting through the air almost as if it were traveling at the speed of light.

… A clear shot directly through the head.


End file.
